A Comprehensive Guide to the Call of Duty: Vanguard Campaign Length
Welcome, soldier! Are you ready to dive into the gripping, action-packed world of Call of Duty: Vanguard's single-player campaign? You've come to the right place. Before you suit up and deploy, you might be wondering: just how long is this journey? Will it be a quick sprint through a few missions, or a marathon of epic proportions? Let's break it down, step by step, so you know exactly what to expect.
Step 1: Start Your Deployment - What Kind of Player Are You?
First things first, let's talk about your playstyle. This is the single biggest factor in determining how long your Vanguard campaign experience will be. Are you a speedrunner who just wants to see the story's conclusion? Are you a casual player who likes to enjoy the sights and sounds? Or are you a completionist who won't rest until every achievement is unlocked?
The Rushed Player: If you're a Call of Duty veteran who knows the ropes, you can likely blast through the campaign on an easier difficulty in a surprisingly short amount of time. You'll skip cutscenes, ignore optional objectives, and focus solely on the main path. This is not for the faint of heart or those who want to appreciate the story!
The Average Player: This is where most people fall. You'll play on a standard difficulty, watch the cutscenes, and take your time to appreciate the narrative and gameplay. You might die a few times and have to retry sections, which is all part of the fun.
The Completionist: You're not just here to beat the game; you're here to conquer it. You'll be playing on the hardest difficulty, hunting for every achievement and trophy, and exploring every nook and cranny of the maps. This will significantly increase your playtime.
Now that you've identified your playstyle, let's get into the specifics.
Step 2: The Core Experience - How Long is the Main Story?
The Call of Duty: Vanguard campaign is a cinematic, globe-trotting adventure that follows a diverse group of elite soldiers who form Task Force One. The story is told through flashbacks as the characters are interrogated, each mission revealing a different member's backstory and their heroic deeds in various theaters of World War II.
Average Playtime: For most players focusing on the main story objectives on a Regular or Hardened difficulty, you can expect the campaign to last approximately 5 to 7 hours.
This is a pretty standard length for a modern Call of Duty campaign. The developers at Sledgehammer Games have designed a focused, linear experience that is all about delivering high-octane action and a compelling narrative without any unnecessary filler.
Step 3: A Detailed Breakdown of the Campaign Missions
The Vanguard campaign is comprised of nine distinct missions. Each mission focuses on a different member of Task Force One, allowing you to experience the war from multiple perspectives. The missions are:
Phoenix: The opening mission that sets the stage and introduces the core team.
Operation Tonga: A classic CoD paratrooper mission, you'll jump into the shoes of Arthur Kingsley.
Stalingrad: Here, you'll play as the incredible sniper, Polina Petrova, experiencing the brutal urban warfare of Stalingrad.
The Battle of Midway: Take to the skies as Wade Jackson, a hotshot pilot in a thrilling aerial combat mission.
Numa Numa Trail: Continue Wade's story on the ground, showcasing his resilience and grit.
Lady Nightingale: A return to Polina's journey, this mission highlights her stealth and cunning.
The Rats of Tobruk: Experience the desert warfare of North Africa as Lucas Riggs, an Australian demolition expert.
The Battle of El Alamein: Another mission with Lucas Riggs, showcasing large-scale tank battles.
The Fourth Reich: The epic conclusion that brings the entire team together for a final confrontation.
Each of these missions typically takes around 30-45 minutes to complete, which adds up to the 5-7 hour total.
Step 4: Increasing the Challenge - How Difficulty Affects Playtime
Ready for a real challenge? Playing on a higher difficulty will absolutely impact your playtime.
Recruit: If you just want to breeze through the story, this is your mode. You'll rarely die, and you can likely finish the campaign on the shorter end of the playtime spectrum.
Regular: The intended experience. It provides a good balance of challenge and accessibility.
Hardened: The game starts to get more intense. Enemies are more accurate, and you'll have less health. You can expect to spend a bit more time on missions, retrying sections and using more strategic approaches.
Veteran: The ultimate test. This is where the playtime can increase significantly. Enemies are pinpoint accurate and can kill you in just a shot or two. You'll rely on cover, strategic movements, and a lot of patience. A 5-hour playthrough on Regular could easily become an 8-10 hour grueling experience on Veteran.
It's a common consensus that the Veteran difficulty in Vanguard is more challenging than in recent CoD titles but still more manageable than the classic games like World at War.
Step 5: The Completionist's Quest - Beyond the Main Story
If you're a true completionist, your journey is far from over once the credits roll. There are a variety of achievements and trophies to unlock that will extend your playtime.
Campaign-Specific Achievements: There are achievements for completing the campaign on various difficulties (including Veteran), as well as a range of specific, in-game challenges. These might include getting kills with certain weapons, performing specific actions in a mission, or finding all the collectibles (though Vanguard's campaign is known for having fewer collectibles than past titles, which can be a good thing for time-conscious players!).
Total Playtime for 100% Completion: For those who want to unlock every single campaign-related achievement, the total playtime can jump to a staggering 20-30 hours. This is due to the need for multiple playthroughs on different difficulties, replaying missions to get specific achievements, and generally taking your time to master every aspect of the game's campaign.
In summary, the time you spend in the Vanguard campaign is entirely up to you. It can be a quick and satisfying action movie, or a dedicated and challenging tactical experience.
10 Related FAQs: How to...
How to beat the Call of Duty: Vanguard campaign on Veteran difficulty? To beat the campaign on Veteran, you need to be patient and strategic. Use cover at all times, rely on your squadmates' abilities, and don't rush into gunfights. Learn enemy spawn points and use grenades and equipment wisely.
How to complete all missions in the Call of Duty: Vanguard campaign? The campaign is linear and the missions are unlocked in sequence. Simply complete each mission, from "Phoenix" to "The Fourth Reich," to progress through the story.
How to find all the collectibles in the Vanguard campaign? Unlike some previous CoD campaigns, Vanguard's campaign has a very limited number of collectibles, focusing more on the core gameplay and narrative. Focus on the achievement challenges instead.
How to unlock all campaign trophies/achievements in Vanguard? You will need to play through the campaign on Veteran for a key achievement, and then replay specific missions to complete the various in-game challenges for other trophies.
How to replay missions in the Call of Duty: Vanguard campaign? After completing a mission, you can access the mission select menu from the main campaign screen to replay any mission you have already finished. This is great for achievement hunting.
How to use character abilities in the Vanguard campaign? Each character in Task Force One has a unique ability. Arthur can command allies, Polina is a master of stealth and can crawl through tight spaces, Wade has a focus ability to highlight enemies, and Lucas can carry and use multiple types of lethal equipment. Pay attention to the on-screen prompts to use them effectively.
How to skip cutscenes in the Vanguard campaign? To skip a cutscene, simply press the designated button (usually indicated on the screen) to fast-forward the cinematic and get back to the action.
How to check my progress in the Vanguard campaign? The campaign menu will show you which missions you have completed and on what difficulty. You can also view the list of achievements and your progress on them in your platform's trophy or achievement list.
How to change the difficulty in the Vanguard campaign? You can select your difficulty at the beginning of the campaign. If you want to change it later, you can usually do so from the pause menu or by restarting the mission.
How to get all the weapon skins from the Vanguard campaign? Completing certain challenges or missions in the campaign can unlock weapon blueprints and other cosmetic items for use in multiplayer and Zombies mode. Check the challenges menu for specific requirements.
